Dutch Police Arrest Suspect in Russian Embassy House Burglary

Dutch аuthorities have arrested a man suspected of breaking into a Russian Embassy apartment in The Hague last week, an incident that heightened already tense relations between Russia and the Netherlands.

The 43-year-old suspect was tracked down thanks to fingerprints left at the scene of the burglary and arrested at a restaurant on Wednesday night, police said. They added the man was a repeat offender and is being investigated for other burglaries in the same area.

Police said the suspect will appear in court on Friday.

Traces of a break-in were discovered on Oct. 17 at an apartment owned by the Russian Embassy. The Dutch Foreign Ministry said the burglary appeared to be a "normal" crime, contradicting speculation that the break-in might be a tit-for-tat reaction to an attack on a Dutch diplomat several days before.

Two men posing as electricians attacked senior Dutch diplomat Onno Elderenbosch at his Moscow apartment in early October, a week after Russian diplomat Dmitry Borodin was detained by police in The Hague on accusations that he had mistreated his children.